The How to Handbook for Sinners Turned Saints
by Lileigh
Summary: Luke must deal with his past and present colliding during a hauntingly difficult case.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **_I own no part of Rookie Blue, but apparently it owns part of me. I couldn't get this out of my head until I put it on paper. Yes, I actually wrote it out longhand. I've taken to carrying a notepad around with me just in case my muse hops out from behind a tree and attacks. _

**A/N:** _Let me just start by saying that this story is going to be long. And disturbing. It disturbs me while I am writing it. I don't even know where it came from. Luke just walked into my head one day and with him came flashes of conversations. Love it or hate it; post more or stop right here…please, please let me know what you think. Brutal honesty is encouraged. _

_A word of warning: The rating should be taken seriously._

Early. It was so early. Or maybe it was late. Luke didn't think it really mattered. The photos were the same no matter what the time of day. Constantly staring at him from the whiteboard across the room. Tiny faces with glassy eyes and blue lips; their broken bodies lay twisted on the ground. Five innocent little girls who should be home playing with puppies and dressing up like princesses in their mother's high heels. Instead, they were lying in the morgue.

Luke's eyes burned and blurred from staring at the photos and reading the case files over and over. He rubbed a hand over his face and then shoved it through his hair to the tense muscles at the back of his neck.

"You been here all night, man?" Detective Jerry Barber strode through the door, bringing the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and warm doughnuts with him.

"Uh, yeah. I guess. It's morning?"

Jerry shoved a cup of coffee into Luke's hand and propped a hip against the desk.

"You need to get out of here, Luke. Go home, take a shower, eat, walk in the sun for a while, whatever. Just don't be here."

"Hmm…," Luke absentmindedly sipped his coffee while flipping through one of several files laid out in precise alignment on his desk. "There has to be something we're not seeing. These girls…every, single one of them has been on the missing persons list for at least two years. They're all thin. They're all under the age of ten. They've all been ra…," Luke's voice broke on the word and his stomach churned acidly. He took in a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck again. 'Work the problem,' he told himself silently. 'Emotions are useless here. They only get in the way of viewing the facts clearly.'

"They've all been branded with the same tattoo," he slapped a picture of a black fleur-de-lis design that was tacked to the murder board. "It's the only thing that links them."

Luke stared at the photos again. "There's something we aren't seeing," he repeated.

"Luke, you've been going over those files for weeks now. You didn't even leave the station last night." Jerry shook his head. "Even if there is something we've missed, you're not going to see it. You're tired and getting dangerously close to obsession. Go home." His voice remained quiet and his tone even, but it brooked no argument. Luke knew he was right, anyway. Suddenly he felt every minute of the past few weeks as if they were rocks loaded onto his shoulders.

"Yeah," he blew out a breath and tossed the pen he'd been gripping onto his desk. "Okay."

Grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair, Luke walked into the squad room. Laughter greeted him and he turned to see Andy McNally and Traci Nash walking toward him. It had been months since they had broken up, but he still got a twinge of regret every time he saw Andy. The way her face lit with laughter and love when she was with Sam Swarek made Luke wish for an instant that things had worked out between them. But, as angry as her lies had made him, he couldn't fault her for finally giving in and following her heart. He knew all about wanting someone you shouldn't. He just wished things had worked out as well for him as they had for Andy and Sam.

"Hey," Andy came to a stop in front of him. "You okay? You look…um."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just been a long night, you know? I'm gonna go home and catch some sleep. " Luke knew she didn't believe him. Andy was way too good at reading people to let such an obvious lie pass and her brows drew together. Before she could say anything, Luke started to back away. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Have a good day." He turned toward the exit hallway. "Stay safe," he tossed over his shoulder.

As he opened the door leading outside, Luke felt the warm sun hit him full in the face. He stood there for an instant, hoping the light of day would wash away all the black despair he felt hanging over him. He drew in a deep breath, let it out and slid his sun glasses on. Maybe it would work tomorrow.

All the way through the drive home Luke's mind raced. It was the tattoo that had first caught his attention. The delicate black outline of the fleur-de-lis. Once the symbol of royalty, in centuries past it had also been branded into the skin of convicted criminals. Luke had wondered in retrospect whether that had been an ironic statement on her part. A private joke on the world. There for everyone to see, if only they knew what they were looking at. Now, seeing it etched into the delicate flesh of five young girls, he had begun to question all he thought he knew. His stomach twisted and his hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"Just a coincidence," he muttered to himself. "It doesn't have anything to do with her. I just need to get some sleep and it will all be clearer. "

But those brutal images were seared into his brain. Their faces. Their parents' faces. Her face.

Not since he'd caught his first homicide as a rookie, had he let a case get under his skin like this.

'Emotions get in the way of the facts,' his training officer had told him. 'Work the problem. Solve the case, don't get lost in it. You might not find your way back out.'

Sleep, Luke thought with a sigh, was going to be hard to come by. And when it did, it might be more of a curse than a blessing.


	2. Chapter 2

Red hair shining in the sunlight like flames…blink…long narrow eyes the color of a Bahamian wave…blink…lithe muscles cutting through the water with strong strokes…blink…soft, full lips parted in laughter…kisses…harsh words…blink…

Luke came slowly awake to the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance, 5:05 am glaring in red beside the bed. Of course he dreamed of her. Lately he couldn't get her out of his head. But then, who was he kidding, she'd never left in the first place.

Ever since he'd moved into the new house, he'd taken to running in the early morning. The clear, gray light of dawn, the absolute silence of day before the world awoke was usually the perfect way to cleanse his mind. It tended to be the best part of his day and this run was no exception. Luke felt better than he had in days as he walked through the station to his office. He felt clear; determined to hang on to his detachment. Getting lost in this case wouldn't help anyone and neither would getting lost in his memories. Detachment: that was the plan.

The plan lasted about five minutes.

He didn't need to turn around to know that she was behind him. The tingle that spread through his chest and all the way down to his toes told him. The faint scent of jasmine and honeysuckle only confirmed it. He closed his eyes for a moment. She had always smelled like summer.

Sabine.

Turning around really wasn't in his best interests any way you looked at it. Maybe, if he didn't turn around, she would stay. Or go. Luke wasn't really sure which he wanted. All he knew for certain was that she was the only woman who had ever really gotten to him. She had ghosted past his defenses and made him fall hard. He had been ready to give her anything. But then, that was her particular skill, wasn't it? After all, she was a professional; a world class grifter. Sabine Mason lied and betrayed people's trust for a living. Still, knowing that, he couldn't stop the traitorous jump of his pulse when he heard her voice.

"Luke."

Two years hadn't dimmed the memory of it at all.

"_You gonna go talk to her?" Swarek asked._

_Luke stared through the one-way glass. "Yeah. I just need to make a call," he patted his pockets in growing confusion. "Where is my…I swear I had it."_

"_Uh. Callaghan?" Sam pointed into the interview room. _

_Luke turned to look and saw Sabine looking directly at him. She smiled and held up his cell as her thumb touched the screen._

_Darkness._

"_Damn." Luke jumped for the door. In the total blackout of the station hallway, it was difficult to find the door to the room where she was being held. Luke slamed it open just as the emergency lights flickered to life. _

_Empty._

_His phone rested on the table next to a pair of handcuffs. _

Luke turned around and felt like someone had just sucker punched him. She hadn't changed. An elegant black pantsuit draped her slender 5'8" frame and her long hair was pulled back in a low knot. Even at twenty-five she had been sophisticated. Mature beyond her years. That poise still cloaked her as she stood in the middle of the very police division she had broken out of two years ago.

"Not even a 'hello' for an old friend?" she asked smoothly.

Luke's breath had returned to him and with it his temper. "You have stunned me into silence, Sabine. This is ballsy even for you." He gestured to the other cops in the room. "I mean, this isn't exactly your normal venue, is it?"

"Well, I figured that regardless of where I started out talking to you, if you had any say in the matter, sooner or later this would be where I would end up." Her wry smile invited him to join in on the humor. Luke stared at her, stony-faced. "I thought I would be nice and save you the trouble."

"It would have been _nice_ if you had saved me some trouble two years ago and not staged a jail break."

"Well, I took your arresting me personally. It was upsetting. Anyway, those charges were ultimately dropped for lack of evidence, so I considered it wrongful imprisonment. But we're getting off topic. I have information you're going to want to hear."

"Luke, Best wanted me to…," Noelle's voice preceded her into the room. "Oh, sorry I didn't know you were with someone."

"I'm not with her. I actually would prefer her not to be here at all." Luke tossed Sabine a hard look. "Speaking of, how did you get past the front desk and into my office?"

"Oh now, darling, don't lie. " Sabine said in a saccharine tone, ignoring the last. "You know you've wanted to get your hands on me for years."

"You left out one important word in that sentence, d_arling._ Cuffs. I've wanted to get my hand_cuffs _on you for years."

"Right, I do seem to remember you wanted to try that," she sniped back and tapped her lip with insincere pensiveness. "Maybe later."

Noelle's eyebrows had risen during this exchange and her eyes slid from Luke to Sabine in fascination. "Luke, Best wanted to see you about something." She stepped forward and extended her hand to Sabine. "I'm Noelle Williams. You look familiar. Have we met?"

"I don't think so," Sabine replied politely. "Were you here two years ago?"

"Thanks, Noelle," Luke interrupted with a warning look at Sabine. "Can you tell him I'll be right there?"

Noelle opened her mouth, then just shook her head and walked out with a disgruntled look.

"Ahh. Still charming the ladies, I see." Sabine laughed.

"Why are you here? Those particular charges might have been dropped, but considering your illustrious criminal career, I don't think I'll have a problem finding some reason to arrest you."

"I told you. I need to talk to you. I have information on a case."

Luke blew out his breath in a laugh. "Give me one reason to believe anything you say to me."

"I actually have never lied to you," she said. "That is an uncommon occurrence, so it must count for something."

"Never lied to me? Sabine, you told me you were an antiquities dealer!"

"I _did _deal in antiquities."

"You dealt with them by stealing them!"

"Well…it wasn't a lie."

"You…"

"Detective Callaghan, when I say I want to see you…whoa!" Staff Sergeant Frank Best stepped into Luke's office followed by Sam, Andy and Jerry. "Is that who I think it is?"

Sabine's eyes narrowed on Sam. "My, my. You're looking remarkably official."

Sam recovered from his surprise and smiled. "Well hello, convict. It's nice to see you again. Is this just a social call or…?"

Sabine shot him a killing look and turned to Luke. "I think I'll catch you another time. Your office is a little crowded at the moment."

"You know, I've decided that right now is the perfect time after all." Luke said, smiling wide. "I mean, this is multi-tasking at its finest. You get to share your information with everyone on the case and have a little reunion with all of your favorite arresting officers at the same time."

"You can't seriously be thinking about listening to her. She cons people for a living!" Sam shook his head. "You can't trust her."

"Oh, go sing it somewhere else, Mr. Undercover-drug-addict. Last time I saw you, you were about to go stick a needle between your toes. Or…oh, wait…were you running a con?"

Sam just crossed his arms and grinned at her. "I always wondered why you didn't blow my cover then."

Luke turned to look at Sam. "You saw her and didn't tell me?"

"Must have slipped my mind." Sam raised a brow at Sabine. "So? Why didn't you?"

She shrugged gracefully, "They were bad guys. Their drugs hurt a lot of people. They needed to be taken down. Why do you think _I_ was there?" As the room fell into dead silence, she scanned their faces. "What? Even we criminals have _some_ moral code."

Luke shook his head. "You have the most annoying view of morality of anyone I've ever met."

"Hey! What the hell is going on here?" Best's voice was filled with annoyance and confusion.

"Sabine says she has information on a case. I'm guessing it's this one." Luke gestured to the photo-filled board behind him.

"You've seen the tattoos, Luke. You have to know that I can help you." Sabine stared at the tortured images and a spasm of pain crossed her face. "You want to know what happened to these girls? I can tell you that." She looked up at him and he thought he saw a flash of vulnerability and regret. "But, in order to tell you their story, I have to tell you mine. I owe you that anyway." She sank into a chair. "You might want to take notes."


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't really remember much of my life from before. A few flashes; a few faces, but nothing concrete. There's nowhere and no one I can look to and say 'I belong here'. My life as I recall it started the day I was taken.

It was cold that day. I was playing outside; making a game of piling up leaves and jumping into them. I wasn't paying attention to anything else, so I suppose it was easy for them. I remember arms grabbing me from behind; a hand over my mouth; metal against my palms as the trunk lid came down. I remember screaming for my mom and wondering why she didn't come. I was taken to a building downtown and locked alone in a room for days. I was terrified. I wished someone would just come and tell me what they wanted." Sabine fell silent, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her head jerked slightly to the left in an unconscious gesture of denial and she breathed deeply through her nose. "That was the last thing I ever wished for in my entire life. I was sold to at least 50 different men in the first year. I was also sent with other girls to work the streets as a pickpocket. The better we were as thieves, the less we were used in the house. Even as a child it's easy to understand that equation. So, I got really good at stealing, really fast. Pickpocketing, shoplifting, breaking and entering; you name it, I mastered it. They kept me off the house roster most of the time. " Sabine paused, her hands clenched tightly together. "Not all of the time, but it was usually reserved as a punishment for running away. They always found me anyway and it wasn't like I had anywhere safe to go, so eventually I stopped running. That's how it works, you know? Over time, they kill your hope; break your spirit. You're convinced that this is all there is; that you are never getting out."

Sabine stared at the murder board with dry eyes and an expressionless face. "Usually you don't. Unless…" She gestured to the photos, and then bit her lip; her eyes haunted. "Who's to say they're not the lucky ones among us."

"There were ten girls in my house. It took a lot of planning, but we _did_ all get out. Alive. All of us together one night." Sabine still addressed everyone in the room, but her gaze was focused on Luke. "When you grow up that way; in such a situation, you find yourself able to do things that most kids wouldn't even think about. You've already had to do things most adults wouldn't even think about, so your view of the world is a bit skewed." She paused and her sight once again fell to the images of the small victims. "By that time, I had figured out how to break into combination safes, so I took what money they had stashed in the house. We had enough to get a bus out of town and to stay together for a while, but eventually that ran out and…well, as a kid, you either go into the system or out onto the streets." Her lips twisted, "Then again, whichever way we went, I guess we all made it into the system sooner or later. But, you would know that better than most people." She raised her chin and looked them in the eyes; defying their expressions of horror and pity.

Andy was the first to recover her voice, faint as it was. "How old were you?"

"When I was taken?"

"Yes."

"I was seven. Thirteen when we got out."

Luke leaned against his desk looking sick. "You went through that for six years?"

"Yes."

"How did you escape? I'm guessing there were people there; guards of some kind."

Sabine just looked at him with expressionless eyes. "Like I said, you find yourself willing to do things most people wouldn't."

The room was silent as the five cops each processed her story. Sabine noticed that the young female officer leaned just a bit closer to Sam Swarek as she tried to hide the tears welling in her eyes.

"Why didn't you go to the cops?" Luke's question snapped Sabine's attention back to him.

"Before we escaped it was impossible; we were watched too closely. I tried once after I got out, but the house was gone and the other girls were too scared to back me up. There wasn't any evidence or connections to be made. Then they put me into the foster system." Sabine shook her head at the memory. "That didn't work out. I was out on the streets again before long, and this time I was resolved to do whatever I had to do to take care of myself. In my mind, that meant becoming even better at the one thing I already knew. Stealing. That meant educating myself, so I practically lived in the libraries. I ran with car thieves for a while; art forgers; grifters; jewel thieves; hackers. Anyone who could teach me something new. And after a time it became less about survival and more about the challenge. It was a game and I was very good at it. One of the best in the world. And…well, you ran my prints two years ago. You know the rest." An honest smile shone through as she looked at Luke. "You were the only one to ever arrest me, you know. Others came close to figuring out who I was, but you actually did it. Not to be egotistical or anything, but that really is impressive. " Sabine shook her head and her brow wrinkled. "I'm oddly appreciative of your skills."

Luke sat on the edge of his desk, trying to regain his composure. "Wha…" he cleared his throat, "What do the tattoos mean?"

"It traditionally implies ownership. The French monarchy used it to brand thieves; slave owners used it to brand their slaves. It was our abductors' way of saying we were theirs."

Luke's gaze bored into her for a moment and then he reached out a hand to gently brush the hair away from the back of her neck. His finger lightly traced the black outline that was still shockingly crisp after all these years. Sabine's eyes closed and her breath caught as if an electric shock had run through her. It had always been like that between them. Sparks had flown from the very first time they had met. And not warm, cozy fire-in-wintertime sparks; these were more like a forest fire coming to burn your house down.

"How did you survive it?" Jerry asked, his hand raising and falling in an almost helpless gesture. "You were just a baby."

"You would be amazed at what you can endure when you don't have a choice. My..uh.. _career_ helped too. Stealing made me feel in control. That probably doesn't make sense to you, but I was my own boss and I made my own decisions. No one else was telling me what to do anymore or using me. Also, I've had years of therapy." Sabine's shoulder rose and fell. "You learn to make your way through it. You don't ever get over it, but you get through. You leave what you can in the past and what you can't leave…well, you learn to live with it and it shapes the person you become. For better or for worse."

Sabine stood abruptly, seeming to shake off the memories and picked up a file off of Luke's desk. "I didn't realize until much later that the house I was in was only one of several. " She picked up another file and looked up; meeting everyone's eyes in turn. "You need to understand how far this reaches. It's not just local." She shook her head in frustration. "When I first started planning and conning my way in, I thought I could take these people down by myself, but it's too big. I already have a game in play, but I need help. Ironically, I need the law on my side."

Luke opened his mouth as if to say something then his lips compressed and he shook his head. "You're a criminal, Sabine. Whatever the reason or cause behind it, that's the reality. We can't trust you. And we will _never_ be on the same side."

Sabine's eyes narrowed. "You know what, Boy Scout? It must be really nice to live in a black and white world. But that's not _my_ reality. My reality for the last twenty years, has been waking up every day and deciding which shade of gray I can live with. It's working to survive something that _no one_ should ever be faced with. You think you know what those girls went through? You don't even know the half of it. _That's _my reality and it isn't even on the same planet as yours." She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed hard. "Look. You want to destroy these people and so do I. That makes us allies for now, Luke. As unlikely as that may seem."

Sabine tossed the files back on his desk and strode to the door where she stopped and looked back. "I have all of the evidence I've collected at my place. Are you coming?"

"I'm not letting my cops just walk into a possible trap," Frank Best told her. "Luke is right. The circumstances of our acquaintance don't exactly put you in the best light. Why didn't you bring the evidence with you?"

"I needed to know if you would have faith in me." There was no question in anyone's mind that she was talking only to Luke. "I hoped that if I was honest with you and told you everything, you might trust me a little. Just enough to give me a chance to prove to you that I'm not the person you think I am." She waved her hand at the building surrounding her. "I came here. I don't know what else to do."

Luke's jaw clenched, "Why would you trust us? I arrested you before, I could do it again."

"Of course I trust you, you're an honest man. The fact that you arrested the woman that you were in… a relationship with tells me that. Now, him I don't trust." Her eyes narrowed on Sam, "I've seen how well he lies."

Sam's only reaction was to look incredibly flattered.

Best blew out a breath, "Callaghan, go with her." He looked hard at Sabine, "But keep one hand on your gun."


	4. Chapter 4

Andy sat with Sabine outside of Luke's office. Having been banned from the discussion taking place within, Sabine had opted to wait here and Andy had decided to wait with her. She figured the senior officers would brief her later and she would be better served trying to get as much information as possible. She had never seen Luke so worked up before. Even when things blew up between them, he had always maintained his calm. One look at the woman sitting beside her, though, and his calm had apparently left the building. Andy could never deny being characteristically curious. It was part of what made her a good cop. The unknown nature of Sabine's relationship with Luke was killing her. Not to mention that she felt somewhat protective of him. Irrational or not, having been responsible for inflicting pain on him in the past, she was determined to block anyone else from doing so. Judging from Luke's reaction and Sabine's comments, Andy surmised that their acquaintance had almost certainly been more than professional. She tried to tailor her line of questioning to suit that assumption.

"So, you were in love with him?"

Sabine laughed. "I _do_ appreciate a direct manner of interrogation. Yes, I am…I mean, I was…whatever…yes. You?"

Andy shot her a surprised look and Sabine smiled. "It's beneficial in my line of work to be able to read people. I'd say the two of you were involved, but you ended up leaving him. I hope you managed to do a better job of it than I did."

Andy hesitated, "I cared about him. I still do. I…it's difficult, in this job, to find someone you mesh with and can open up to. We didn't fit well from the start, but I always cared about him."

"Luke has trust issues. I'm partly to blame for that, or at least, I didn't help matters." Sabine said ruefully. "It would be hard for him to really let someone in."

"When you met him, were you here…uh…for work?"

"Yes. My last job of that sort, as it turned out."

"Did you get what you came for?"

"No." An expression of sadness flashed over Sabine's face and she considered Andy for a moment before continuing. "It should have been easy. Get in, take the piece, get out. Unfortunately, another thief thought the same thing. There were two of us there that night, trying to steal the same painting. Long story short, a guard was killed. Not by my hand, but maybe because of me." She fell silent.

Andy kept her eyes on Sabine and waited for her to continue.

"No one ever got hurt on my one of my jobs. I always tried to plan for…he was just a kid. The guard. He was putting himself through college working security. He didn't even have a gun. Raines, the other thief, just shot him and left him to die. Alone." Her brow creased, "I couldn't just…I called 911 and stayed with him. But…gut shot, you know? He died before they got there."

Andy noticed movement at the door of Luke's office, but kept her eyes focused on Sabine. "They caught the guy who shot him. I remember reading about that case. It was Luke's."

"Yes, they caught him. I made sure of it. I conned my way into the investigation posing as an antiquities dealer. I used my connections to locate the painting that was stolen and from there Luke was able to track down Raines. After he was caught, I should have moved on. I shouldn't have let myself get involved with Luke in the first place. I knew it was dangerous, but I ended up staying for six months because I just couldn't leave him."

"How did he find out who you really were?"

Sabine breathed out a laugh. "Luke can be very perceptive; as I'm sure you're aware. Of course, he can also be completely oblivious, but in my case perceptive won out. I'm still not sure what I did that made him suspicious, but he managed to get my prints and run them." She shrugged.

"You were too good to be true."

Sabine jerked around at the sound of Luke's voice.

He shot a lopsided smile at her, the look in his eyes no longer confrontational. "Everything about you was perfect. I knew there had to be something wrong with you. No one is perfect."

Sabine nodded but didn't smile back. "I was always careful about not leaving evidence, but my past jobs were…numerous and, like you said, no one is perfect. There were a lot of agencies that wanted to ask me a lot of questions."

"So you just arrested her? The woman you had been dating for six months?" Andy sounded faintly outraged.

A defensive look crossed Luke's face, but Sabine spoke before he could. "He's an honest man and a good cop. It's what he was supposed to do."

"Did he give you a chance to explain?" Andy asked, still giving Luke a disgruntled look. He crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, looking harassed.

"I would have, but she cut the power and threw the entire building into a blackout. Then she was just…gone." Luke shook his head in exasperation.

"The minute you ran my prints, all those agencies I mentioned sent orders to your division to hold me for extradition. That would not have been to my benefit. So I had to leave," she said, "Abruptly."

"Yeah, they weren't happy when they got here and discovered you missing." Luke frowned, "They had some very unfriendly things to say."

"I made it up to them later. We are on much better terms now."

Luke looked mystified, but before he could question her more, Sam pushed him out of the doorway so he, Jerry and Frank could exit the room.

"How _did_ you turn off the power that day? We've never been able to figure it out." Sam asked, coming to lean on the wall next to Andy.

"Well, I'm a criminal. I have a few ethically questionable tricks up my sleeve. Not to mention a few ethically questionable friends with back doors into the power company's mainframe."

"Okay. I'm just going to cut you off right there before you say something that makes me want to arrest you again. Otherwise, I'll never get this evidence you say you have." Luke held out his hand to pull Sabine to her feet. "Let's go. I'll drive. Sam and Andy are going to follow us."

"Not dressed like that they're not." Sabine said sharply, gesturing at the uniforms. "And certainly not in a police cruiser."

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but Sabine cut him off with an upraised hand. "I didn't blow your cover before, now is your chance to repay the favor. There is no way I can walk into my place accompanied by uniformed officers. You of all people know that someone is always watching." She paused, considering. "Change into civilian clothes and we all go in the same car."

"We'll change clothes, but we'll follow you in my truck." Sam countered.

"Fine." Sabine nodded.

"We'll wait for you in the parking lot." Luke put a hand on Sabine's back to guide her out of the building.

Luke's mind was racing as he walked with Sabine toward his car. Each thought superseded the last: 'she's not trustworthy…she did help once before… God, the things she went through…should I believe her?…I missed her…'. She was walking beside him as if she had never left and he was fighting opposing impulses to arrest her or wrap his arms around her and never let her go again. He stole a glance at her profile.

"I know you don't trust me yet, but I _will_ prove that you can. I promise you that I'm not the same person I was." Sabine said quietly.

"Are you still a criminal?"

"That depends on your definition."

Luke looked at her sideways as they stopped at his car. "Not really."

Sabine smiled at his tone. "There is a possibility that I've done things that didn't adhere to the strict letter of the law, but I've done them to help people."

"Criminal-type people?"

"No," Sabine had to laugh, "Honest-type people. Upstanding citizen-type people who have run afoul of the criminal-type people." She smiled brightly. "I think I've found my niche."

"So, what? You had an epiphany and are now a proponent of truth and justice?" Luke asked dryly.

Sabine grinned at him. "I like to think of it as my karma reclamation project. Besides, I've always found truth to be relative and justice, well, it often comes from surprising directions."

Luke shook his head at her. He felt torn in his reaction to her; disapproval and apprehension warring with laughter and the memory of an old love. As he looked at her face, lit with laughter, he felt the knot of tension he had been carrying around inside for far too long begin to unravel. "Well," he thought fatalistically, "whatever happens next, my life is never going to be the same."


End file.
